Financial firms stung by last week's surge in the Swiss francare changing client rules and trading practices to weather futurecurrency swings.

FXCM Inc., the New York-based retail broker, said Wednesday it'sincreasing margin requirements for clients who trade currencies andgold after customers' losses forced it to seek a US$300 millionlifeline. CME Group Inc., owner of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange,is altering how it handles volatility in emergencies after it wasbuffeted by trading halts last week.

Some of the world's largest banks incurred losses and struggledto process orders after the Swiss National Bank scrapped a three-year cap on the franc versus the euro on Jan.15, fueling a surge of as much as 41 percent in the nation'scurrency. The turmoil shows regulators need to consider boostingoversight of retail trading platforms such as FXCM, a member of theU.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said.